Is MRSA a Virus?
MRSA is not a virus - it is a type of staph bacteria. MRSA is short for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which means that the staph bacteria are resistant to standard antibiotics that are usually used to treat other types of staph infections. The bacteria are capable of causing extremely severe staph infections that often result in death. Like viral conditions, MRSA is extremely contagious, which may be one of many reasons that it is sometimes confused for a virus.
MRSA is mostly communicable between those who live in cramped quarters or in unsanitary conditions. Those who contract the infection are often children, elderly adults or ill patients. These individuals have weaker immune systems which are much less resistant to the infection. This may explain why so many cases of MRSA are contracted in medical facilities despite the usual hygienic conditions.
Many of those residing in medical facilities have weakened immune systems, and are very susceptible to bacteria. Also, the fact that the most severe staph infections occur due to direct contact with open skin, coupled with the large number of patients with conditions including open skin can lead to an increased number of infections. This is why medical professionals need to be extremely careful and maintain extremely hygienic workplaces.
MRSA usually appears initially as a mild skin condition, marked by small red bumps on the skin that are often mistaken for acne or spider bites. It eventually progresses to more severe boils, which fill with pus. In the most severe cases, the bacteria will advance into the bloodstream and attack immune cells. This is another reason why many people confuse MRSA bacteria with viruses such as HIV. However, unlike the HIV virus, the way in which MRSA bacteria kill off immune cells is through the secretion of an amino acid compound that actually results in the explosion of the immune cell.
MRSA is definitely not a virus, but often, the staph infection will occur due to a weakened immune system after a virus, or the virus may occur due to the MRSA weakening the immune system. Oftentimes, a deadly virus and MRSA may occur at the same time, which makes the victims’ chances of survival slim to none, as in cases of co morbid MRSA and HIV.
Because MRSA isn’t a virus, it still has the potential to be treated by antibiotics (despite its resistance to standard antibiotic treatments) unlike viral infections which can merely have the symptoms treated.
